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RECENT CHEMICAL BID REPORTS

A U.S. judge gave a federal agency six more months to clear up issues at a wastewater treatment plant in San Ysidro that continues to spew pollution into the Pacific Ocean, despite more than $92 million in upgrades.

Regional water quality officials agreed to the extension, which gives the International Boundary and Water Commission more time to get the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in compliance with the Clean Water Act.

U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz signaled that the extension might be the last allowed in a court battle over the treatment plant that began soon after it was built in the 1990s. Regional water quality officials in court documents said the plant was out of compliance with several measurements dozens of times in 2011. They expressed "serious concerns" about whether the facility can meet state and federal water-quality mandates — but stopped short of pressing for sanctions.

The San Ysidro treatment plant was built in the late 1990s to process about 25 MGD of sewage from Tijuana before discharging it into the ocean. It is run by a private contractor — Veolia Water.

From the start, the plant has not met the Clean Water Act’s regulations for secondary treatment in which sediments and other pollutants are removed to minimize marine toxicity. After years of debate from San Diego to Washington about the best way to make improvements, Congress funded an expansion that was completed in early 2011.

The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission has given preliminary approval to regulations that would limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in bodies of water statewide.

The rules are broken down into two sets. The first would require large wastewater treatment plants, like Grand Junction’s Persigo plant, to control their nitrogen and phosphorus levels. The second set would require that all bodies of water comply with the nutrient amounts by 2024. That includes drainage authorities and districts.

"We have to monitor this and make sure the quality is what these regulations require, it's going to cost a lot of money to do that," said Kevin Williams, manager for the Grand Valley Drainage District. He said he is worried that these regulations will become an unfunded mandate. "A benefit analysis that was done is that right now in this first phase, this is going to encumber the people of the state of Colorado almost $2.5 billion, and it's unfunded.

Eileen List with the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant says they are still looking into what the regulations would mean for the plant and if it would need upgrades to comply. She said they don't have any cost projections at this time.

The Water Quality Control Commission will review the rules again in May then send them to the EPA. If approved there, the regulations will go into effect on June 30.

Bids are due April 25, 2012 for improvements at the Elmere Lagoon.

This project includes, but is not limited to, demolition of an existing backwash water lagoon, construction of two new lined backwash water lagoons, including appurtenant site work.

For more information go to: http://ct.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=2713622

Ocala engineers have started a $2 million project to improve the way the city distributes millions of gallons of reclaimed water to customers throughout its service area.

Surveyors are plotting a course where they eventually will bury a 10-inch water pipe between the Pine Oaks golf course and Ocala's wastewater treatment plant.

The nine-mile distance between the two points will take four months to survey. The work began in January and will be completed in April. Construction will start about August and be completed in three phases over the following three years in order to distribute the cost over time, said Ed Earnest, an Ocala water and sewer engineer.

Earnest said the project is part of a larger utilities plan to improve the efficiency of the city's ability to transfer partially treated wastewater to areas that use it for irrigation.

Currently, Ocala operates three wastewater treatment plants that treat customers' wastewater and redistribute it for re-use, mostly for irrigation purposes. The water isn't treated to drinking water standards but is significantly cleaner than that found in most privately owned septic tanks, Earnest said.

Sometimes problems crop up and a plant's ability is hampered. When that happens, it can't always distribute its wastewater for re-use. To mitigate such situations, Ocala is connecting some of the plant's distribution pipes. That way, when one plant fails, there will be a backup.

Of the city's three plants two are already connected. Plant No. 1 generates about 400,000 gallons daily of treated wastewater. Plant No. 2, generates about 2.6 MGD, and Plant No. 3 treats 2 MGD. When construction of the wastewater pipe project is complete, all three plants will share distribution pipes.

The city of American Falls is looking to the future by breaking ground on a new $12.5 million wastewater treatment plant.

Mayor Manning said the City Council realized the wastewater treatment plant was a problem when it started thinking about economic development. "American Falls is the best place on Earth, so to bring people here and to bring in more businesses, we'd have to increase our capacity at the treatment plant," Manning said.

With approximately 600,000 gallons of water pumping through it every day, the current facility runs at just below capacity.

"And if your treatment facility cannot accommodate the growth, you can't grow. You've got to have the capacity in your treatment facility to handle any type of growth," said Waste Water Superintendent Pete Cortez.

The state-of-the-art plant that is being built will vacuum wastewater through filter plates and treat organic waste without outdoor drying beds, cutting down on the smell.

Environmental stewardship is a big part of the project. The water from the plant already gets dumped into the Snake River, but after it gets filtered through the new plant, that water that gets dumped will be clean enough to drink, Cortez said.

One of the biggest challenges is keeping the crumbling facility operational and up to code while the new plant is built, but Cortez said, with the new plant able to handle double the water it can now, this will mean big things for American Falls.

American Falls is funding the project largely through a $3 million USDA grant and an $8 million USDA low-interest loan. The Department of Environmental Quality also loaned American Falls $1 million and the city itself is contributing $800,000

The amount of phosphorus pollution entering the Boise River during summer months from the city of Boise’s two wastewater treatment plants will be reduced by 98 percent under two updated discharge permits issued by the EPA in March. The EPA permits also contain new requirements to limit mercury and ammonia discharges and call for cooler water entering the River from the treatment plants.

Boise currently discharges about 1,100 pounds of phosphorus each day from the two treatment plants. Once the plants are in compliance with the new permits, the city will discharge no more than 15 pounds each day. The city was not required to remove phosphorus under the earlier EPA permits. The prior permits for the two plants had no limits for phosphorus, mercury, ammonia or temperature.

Under the permits, the city will remove the majority of the phosphorus within the next five years through technology upgrades at the two treatment plants. In the coming weeks, EPA anticipates that the city will propose to remove additional phosphorus from the Dixie Drain, an agriculture return drain 34 miles downstream. When the city submits its detailed proposal for the Dixie Drain "offset," EPA may then reopen the permits and submit the Dixie Drain proposal for public review and comment.

These permits will help restore impaired water quality in the Boise River and help achieve the water quality goals set out in the Snake River/Hells Canyon TMDL. Both the Lower Boise River and the Lower Snake River are listed as impaired water bodies due to excess phosphorus pollution and the Brownlee Reservoir suffers from large algae blooms regularly as a result of the phosphorus load in the system.

Recently the Twin Falls City Council acted on three items for its planned $10.5 million pretreatment and wastewater treatment plant upgrades.

They recently accepted water technology company Ovivo’s $4.35 million bid for pretreatment facility equipment.

The council will also consider a resolution to purchase clarifier equipment on the open market, after bids received in February came in high. If that passes, the council will consider accepting Ovivo’s $260,070 post-negotiation offer for the equipment.

Benton City Council members will continue discussion of a proposed wastewater treatment plant following presentation by six engineering firms all vying to design the facility. Members will hear presentations from two of the firms in March.

Water and Sewer Department Superintendent Steve Shoultz said meetings with the engineering firms are held behind closed.

Springfield Metro Sanitary District rates could increase again starting in 2018 to pay for improvements aimed at reducing the number of storm-sewer overflows that flood sections of the city during heavy rains.

The district is recommending $65 million in upgrades to the Spring Creek and Sugar Creek wastewater treatment plants, which would be paid for overtime. The size of the increases would vary by community, but Springfield residents would see the largest increase.

A handful of other options to reduce overflows were reviewed, but are much more expensive, according to a 2 1/2-year, $5 million study by the engineering firm of Crawford, Murphy and Tilly. Separating the combined sewers that run under the city of Springfield, for example, would come with a $540 million price tag.

Gregg Humphrey, the sanitary district’s executive director, said that separating the storm-water and sewer lines is "just a horrible option." It would require streets throughout Springfield to be torn up, disrupting businesses and tourism, he said.

The sanitary district’s options are outlined in its long-term "combined sewer overflow control plan," which was submitted to state environmental regulators at the end of last year. The plan is a condition of obtaining a water-discharge permit and is subject to change, Humphrey said.

Most of Springfield’s flooding problems are caused by combined storm sewers. TheTown Branch line — up to 16 feet in diameter at its discharge point — is the major culprit.

The district’s preferred $65 million option, which includes repairs to the Town Branch channel between Lincoln Avenue and Spring Creek, would reduce the number of overflows by more than half and meet regulators’ water-quality standards at a "relatively low project cost," according to the plan.

The recommended improvements would cost $44 million at Spring Creek and $21 million at Sugar Creek.

One of the few options that would eliminate overflows requires separating storm-water sewers from sanitary sewers.

Springfield is one of about 125 communities in Illinois and nearly 775 across the country that have combined sewer systems in some areas, according to Rick Pinneo of the Illinois EPA. Both the state and federal EPA are pressuring communities to reduce untreated sewage and rainwater pollution.

The Springfield District had until Dec. 31 to develop a plan to assure that discharges from its nine permitted combined sewer overflows comply with state and federal regulations.

Springfield Metro Sanitary District’s plan is still being reviewed, a process that could take three to six months.

Humphrey said the district will hold public hearings on the plan once the district hears back from the state.

Sewer rates have been hiked each year since 2008 to pay for the multimillion-dollar expansion of the district’s sewage treatment facilities. The second and third phases of the four-phase project are expected to be completed by this summer.

The district serves 150,000 customers, including 100,000 from the Spring Creek plant and 50,000 from the Sugar Creek plant. In addition to Springfield, the district provides sewer services to residents in Chatham, Grandview, Jerome, Leland Grove, Rochester, Sherman, Southern View and unincorporated Sangamon County.

Among recommended improvements:

Spring Creek Treatment Plant ($44.4 million)

• Closing the Bond & Patton overflow
• Improve Oak Ridge interceptor sewer connection
• Improvements in overflow treatment facility, including adding two pumps and a 480-inch-diameter forcemain to the Spring Creek pump station
• Repairing the Town Branch channel between Lincoln Avenue and Spring Creek
• Program to encourage users to install green infrastructure to reduce the volume of water entering sewers.

Sugar Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant ($21 million)

• Increase the size of Harvard Park interceptor sewer along the edge of Bunn Park Golf Course from 30 inches to 54 inches
• Build additional combined sewer overflow capacity
• Dredge the Cook Street lagoon to restore capacity
• Assess the Harvard Park area sewer system through manhole inspections, smoke testing and sewer televising and cleaning to determine level of rehabilitation needed
• Green infrastructure program

Work is progressing with the Scotland sewer line and wastewater treatment plant projects, the Greene County Regional Sewer District Board learned recently.

Consulting Engineer Rick Coppock with Bynum-Fanyo Associates of Bloomington, reported the equipment in the new wastewater treatment plant will be started up and tested in March. Workmen are finishing up some minor details in preparation for actual operation, he said. And the permit for the lift station being constructed along County Road 800S and County Road 200E, has been filed with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM).

Coppock estimated the project will be bid out in April, the contract awarded in May and construction finished by September or October. The design for the flow lines in the town of Scotland will be submitted to IDEM for a construction permit by the end of March. The engineer expects that part of the project to go to bid in May with completion and operational by the end of December.

The next phase of the project will be to construct a lift station to handle the flow from the village of Scotland. That part will be bid in July with construction also expected to be done by the end of the year.

The Regional Sewer District Board has plans to expand its territory to include parts of both Daviess and Martin counties.

The Board attorney reported that she had recently met with county attorneys from both Daviess and Martin counties to discuss their respective options in terms of handling wastewater. They have three options:

* Maintain a county operated system.

* Form their own sewer district.

* Consent to the expansion of the Greene County Regional Sewer District.

A meeting is planned with the Daviess County commissioners April 9 and with the Martin County Redevelopment Commission on April 17.

It was speculated that Crane Village wants to participate in the sewer expansion whether Martin County does or not.

The new treatment plant is sized to handle 25,000 gallons a day with an expansion capability to 50,000 gallons a day.

A $498,676 CFF grant was awarded to the Greene County Commissioners/Greene County Redevelopment Commission for use on the $2 million Scotland Wastewater Treatment plant and distribution line project.

In March 2011, Small and Wilson Construction Company, of Bloomfield, was the successful bidder on the treatment plant project at a cost of $1,068,500.

The Worth County Board of Supervisors recently chose Worth County Water Resources as the name for the new water- and wastewater treatment facilities to be built.

In December, Worth County became the owner of a water and sewer system at the Diamond Jo Casino interchange, after purchasing the assets of Xenia Rural Water District, which was unable to complete a treatment facility due to monetary problems.

Officials hope the facility will be completed late next year.

The town of Neola received a $1.8 million loan from the Iowa Finance Authority to construct a new mechanical wastewater treatment system, while the town of Pisgah received $650,000 toward an upgrade of their treatment facility. Colfax received $510,000 for a project as well.

The purpose of these projects is to make improvements to the wastewater treatment facilities to enhance their reliability, increase capacity and replace obsolete system components.

The new system in Neola should last about 20 years. Completion is expected by the end of spring.

The new Pisgah system alleviates overuse problems. Current flows greatly exceed the design capacity of the treatment facility, which causes problems with the treatment system. Upgrades will bring Pisgah into compliance with standard requirements, enhancing reliability and increasing capacity of the wastewater system. The Pisgah project should be completed by the end of summer.

Since the inception of the construction program, nearly $1.9 billion in clean water and drinking water loans have been made to assist 500 Iowa communities, according to the Iowa Finance Authority.

Bids are due May 23, 2012 for the Easterly Wastewater Treatment Facility improvements.

For more information go to: http://ma.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=2716124

Seven environmental groups from the region and Rhode Island have come out in support of the U.S. EPA’s position regarding the need for more stringent pollutant discharge limits at the Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District plant in Millbury.

Because the Upper Blackstone treatment plant has been identified as one of the primary contributors of nutrients and phosphorus along the Blackstone River, the groups say they are unified in calling for the "speedy implementation" of the most protective permit limits for the plant. They said the Blackstone River needs to be protected to the maximum extent required by law because the health of the river is critically important to the health of Narragansett Bay, which in turn is important to a much larger ecosystem.

"The Upper Blackstone Water Pollution Abatement District, like other point sources along the Blackstone River, flushes all of its contents into the river, and the Blackstone River, in turn, flushes all of its contents into Narragansett Bay, the group wrote in a letter to Patrick King, a retired Massachusetts judge who is settlement counsel in the mediation process involving the EPA and Upper Blackstone District over the pollutant discharge limits for the treatment plant.

"That is why every point source must accept the responsibilities that come along with being a discharger of pollutants into the water of the United States," the letter went on to say. "We believe that the 2008 permit limits are reasonably and scientifically-based and should be upheld and implemented as expeditiously as possible."

The letter was signed by representatives of the Blackstone River Coalition, Blackstone River Watershed Association, Blackstone River Watershed Council/Friends of the Blackstone, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, Audubon Society of Rhode Island, Northern Rhode Island Chapter 737 Trout Unlimited and Save The Bay.

The Upper Blackstone District and city have been at odds with the EPA during the past few years over nutrient limits of phosphorus and nitrogen imposed by the agency in a 2008 permit for the treatment plant.

The start of an estimated $2.1 million upgrade for sections of the Hoosac Water Quality District wastewater treatment plant and the abutting composting facility is proposed in the district's roughly $2 million fiscal 2013 budget.

Chief Operator Bradley Furlon said that the upgrade would focus on the remaining 15 percent of the plant that wasn't included in the $6.1 million upgrade completed in 2008.

The district plans to pay for the upgrade project over a 20-year period, he said. If it's approved for fiscal 2013, then North Adams would be responsible for paying 55.98 percent of the first year's payment of about $173,800, while Williamstown would be responsible for 44.02 percent, he said.

"Among the items included in the upgrade are two secondary clarifiers at the plant that have been operating for 30 years and are only designed to run for 20 years, he said. Much of the equipment that is part of the composting facility has also been used well beyond its years," Furlon said. "As part of the project, we'd replace the compost fan buildings, which were built as temporary structures 20 years ago," he said.

The composting operation is projected to bring in $12,000 in revenue to the district for fiscal 2012. Furlon said an upgrade to the composting facility could possibly increase revenue for the district, as it does have the room to compost additional waste.

"The district has been approached numerous times about composting sludge from other facilities, but we haven't looked at it because if we can't keep the equipment operating without major repairs with what is coming to the facility, we can't take on additional sludge," he said.

Bids are due April 20, 2012 for wastewater system improvements and sanitary sewer improvements in Plainwell.

For more information go to: www.h2bid.com/procurement-notice-156197.html

St Clair City officials have pushed back the deadline to May 7 for proposals to handle water and wastewater services.

The original deadline was in March. To date, the St. Clair City Council has not received official proposals from any private companies to run the plants the city owns and operates, said the city clerk, and St. Clair Mayor Bill Cedar.

The city of Battle Creek is hoping it can convince Kellogg Co. to scrap plans for its own wastewater treatment system that could mean bigger water bills.

Kellogg, the cereal and snack maker, has been looking at installing a wastewater pre-treatment system at its east side Porter Street site in order to save around $1.2 million a year on its city utility bills. Such a revenue loss would force the city to consider raising the price of water and sewer service throughout the city.

City commissioners recently approved a letter of interest between Battle Creek and Kellogg that gives the two sides time to agree to an alternative plan. In the meantime, the city has agreed to cut Kellogg’s monthly bill by $10,000.

Kellogg vice president of corporate social responsibility said, "Kellogg is putting its plans on hold while we work with the city to find solutions that meet both of our needs."

According to the city, Kellogg paid almost $2.3 million for water and sewer service at the Porter Street facility during the city’s most recent fiscal year. That amount was equal to 11 percent of the city’s total water/sewer system revenue for the year.

As an alternative to the Kellogg project, the city and company will be working together to find projects that would bring improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and mean better service and reduced rates for the entire city.

The city of Tecumseh will seek a grant from the Michigan Finance Authority to pay for designing and engineering new blower upgrades for the wastewater treatment plant.

Recently the Tecumseh City Council approved the application for a $32,450 grant to pay 90 percent of the design costs.

City manager Kevin Welch said the total cost of the upgrades will be between $300,000 and $400,000. The current blowers are more than 20 years old and are difficult to repair. He estimated the energy savings would be about $42,000 per year.

Port Huron has received a $560,000 low-interest loan from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that will be used to update mechanical components at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

Robert Clegg, city engineer, said the loans will be used to replace a clarifier mechanism used in the second stage of sewage treatment and for a raw sewage pump. Clegg said the clarifier mechanism was installed in 1975 and is being replaced now. The city already has replaced clarifier mechanisms in two of three tanks, he said. "The tank is 80 feet in diameter, so this is a very large mechanism," Clegg said.

The city of Great Falls is facing a more than $16 million bill to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant.

New requirements from the federal EPA and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality are forcing the city to address three main components of its wastewater discharge process.

Number one, the city needs to reduce the amount of ammonia in its water discharge; next, an ultraviolet treatment system will replace a chlorine based system; and finally, the city will install new flow meters throughout the facility.

In addition to the $16 million cost over the next two years, an additional $3.5 million in consulting fees will go toward drafting the project's design.

The deadline to complete the entire project is at the end of 2014.

City commissioners will consider an amendment that would allow consultants to begin design work in April.

Bids are due April 25, 2012 for replacement of the Leavenworth Lift Station.

For more information go to:

http://www.cityofomaha.org/cityclerk/images/stories/agenda/ID%2011_12_06/Public%20Works/1443.pdf

Oswego Councilors recently passed $8.4 million in bids for the expansion and upgrade to the West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant. The Administrative Services Committee approved the bids at the March 5 meeting.

Blue Heron Construction was awarded the bid for $7,485,000 for "the general construction of the West Side Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion and upgrade." The bid included the low bid for the alternate East Side Wastewater Treatment Plant (ESWTP) project for $174,000.

The low bid for the electrical construction at the plant from Patricia Electrical Inc. was approved in the amount of $518,700, with $25,500 approval for the ESWTP work. Another resolution named J&A Mechanical Contractors Inc. with a low bid of $167,000 for the mechanical and $31,800 for the plumbing portions of the project.

Councilors also awarded the remaining bid on the West Side Excess Flow Management Facility disinfection project of $125,000 to the second lowest bidder, J&A Mechanical Contractors, for plumbing work. Siracusa Mechanical Inc., of Auburn, submitted a low bid of $104,470, but City Purchasing Agent Mike Riley advised councilors during the Feb. 6 committee meeting that there was "some sort of legal issue" with the low bid.

Bids are due 3:00 PM on Thursday, April 19, 2012, in the Office of the Brunswick County Public Utilities Department in the Utilities Operations Center at 250 Grey Water Road NE, Supply, NC, for the construction of the Carolina Shores Force Main and Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements and shortly thereafter the bids will be opened publicly and read aloud.

The contract shall be Single Prime. A general description of the work includes:

The utility line work will consist of installing approximately 39,200 LF of 16-inch force main, adjacent to the South-Bound Right-of-Way of Highway 17 from Highway 904 to the South Carolina state line and then to the Carolina Shores Wastewater Treatment Plant. The work will also include horizontal directional drilling, dry bore and jack and sedimentation control measures.

The Wastewater Treatment Plant work will include constructing a 1,500 gpm diversion pump station, a replacement in-plant pump station, influent splitter box, new floating aerators and mixers in the aeration basins, clarifier splitter box, new scum pump station, MCC building, stand-by generator, SCADA system additions, a new 110-foot antenna and rehabilitating the existing traveling bridge tertiary filter. The foregoing description shall not be construed as a complete description of all work required.

An open pre-bid meeting will be held for all interested bidders and vendors on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. Attendance is not mandatory. The pre-bid meeting will address project specific questions, issues, and bidding procedures.

To view the bid go to:

http://www.brunswickcountync.gov/home/tabid/41/vw/1/itemid/69/invitation-to-bid-carolina-shores-force-main-and-wastewater-treatment-plant-improvements.aspx

Bids are due April 12, 2012 for Phase 2 improvements to the wastewater treatment plant in Amity.

For more information go to:

www.h2bid.com/procurement-notice-155279.html

In addition to replacing aging pipes, the city of Big Spring is also looking to update their sewage and water treatment plants, Mayor Tommy Duncan said. Part of the problem is age and the other is the fact that the city is too spread out, since the population has decreased over the years, Duncan said.

During the past year, the city of Pecos has been dealing with an aging water infrastructure as well, Pecos Mayor Vanetta Seals said. Pecos city council has discussed a bond election and combining updating the city’s pipes and water related infrastructure with a project to fix the city’s streets, Seals said. In total, Seals said fixing all the water infrastructure may cost about $30 million over a number of years.

Since the deadline has passed to get a special election in May, the earliest that they would be able to get on the ballot would be November, Seals said.

Big Spring is considering a bond election to update the treatment plants, which should cost $16 million overall, and during the May election they will vote on whether to use economic development sales tax to fund the updates. If it does not pass they would look at increases in property taxes or water rates.

Updating the water lines is a more long term project. After Big Spring finishes paying off a separate bond in 2014, money that would have gone toward the bond may be used for the water lines, Duncan said.

Bids are due April 3, 2012 for improvements at the Post Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in Bellingham.

To view the bid go to: http://www.cob.org/documents/pw/utilities/ppwwtp/bid-114a-addenda-1-12-01-11.pdf

On March 19, Sumner City Council voted to approve the wastewater treatment plant expansion.

The expansion will ensure enough sewer capacity to sustain the two cities for the next 40 years and ensures that Bonney Lake will dismiss its appeal of Orton Junction.

The plant currently holds capacity of 4.6 MGD; the expansion will raise it to 6.9 MGD. Sumner will have capacity rights of 2.8 MGD; Bonney Lake will have 4.1 MGD.

These breakdowns cover projected growth numbers in the region, including Orton Junction.

The expanded facility should not have to be renovated again until 2028, and will cost approximately $10 million, split between both cities. Sumner and Bonney Lake have both received a Public Works Trust Fund Loan of $4.7 million from the state to cover the costs.

Now that the inter-local agreement has been approved, work will begin to expand the treatment plant and replace the perimeter fence and wall.

In order to pay for the village’s new wastewater treatment system, water and sewer rates for village of LaValle residents are likely to increase substantially over the next few years.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources told the village last fall that the upgrade was needed because ammonia levels in the village’s wastewater — which goes back into the Baraboo River after treatment — exceeded acceptable levels for two months of the year.

The new treatment system would lower the pH level of the water to acceptable levels by adding a base, such as bicarbonate of soda to the water before it is released into the river, said the DNR wastewater section chief.

The village knew about the requirements last fall and hired MSA Professional Services of Baraboo to draw up a plan over the winter. The plan is awaiting DNR approval before being put into effect.

The cost of the new facility would range between $100,000 and $200,000.

The city of Cornwall has announced that a joint venture comprised of Graham Construction and Engineering and Jardeg Construction Services Ltd. has been awarded the largest contract in the city’s history. The joint venture will upgrade the Wastewater Treatment Plant and Pumping Station for $49 million.

Graham was the lowest of five bidders for the project.

The scope of work includes new construction, renovation of existing facilities, earthworks, concrete works, sub-contracting with pre-selected specialty equipment suppliers, mechanical equipment, electrical modifications and improvements as well as the supply and installation of various instrumentation and control panels.

The new secondary treatment will use Biological Aerated Filter (BAF) technology. It will also have a new ultraviolet disinfection system and solids train upgrades.

The contract includes improvements to the existing digester and dewatering facility. It also calls for a new standby power system, electrical system upgrades and pumping station upgrades.

The total budget was $55.5 million.

"The bids for the project came in under budget, and as a result, officials have been able to reintroduce some additional treatment plant components that were previously removed to ensure that the cost remained within budget," the city stated in a press release.

The other bidders were:

• Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., $49,349,613;
• Pomerleau Inc., $49,861,761.89;
• North America Construction (1993) Ltd., $50,223,725; and
• Bondfield Construction Company Ltd., $51,468,476.12.

Pepco Energy Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings, Inc. and DC Water have signed an agreement for Pepco Energy Services to design, build and operate a combined heat and power (CHP) plant at DC Water’s Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWTP). The Blue Plains Advanced WWTP serves approximately 725 square miles of DC, Maryland and Virginia and has a capacity of 370 MGD. The 153 acre plant is the largest advanced wastewater treatment facility in the world.

Pepco Energy Services will design and build the CHP project for $81 million, and it will be the first in North America to use biogas from an Advanced WWTP facility. The CHP project will produce at least 14 MW of electric power that will supply the Blue Plains facility with nearly 30 percent of the Advanced WWTP’s average power demand. This is equal to the electricity required to power more than 8,000 homes.

In addition to designing and building the CHP plant, Pepco Energy Services will provide on-site operations and maintenance services valued at more than $89 million over the 15-year contract term. The overall project is valued at approximately $170 million.

The new CHP plant will be an integral part of DC Water’s new thermal hydrolysis and anaerobic digestion project, which will be the largest in the world. The thermal hydrolysis process uses high-pressure steam from the CHP plant to increase the rate of biogas production and neutralize contaminants in waste streams.

The CHP plant will also include three Solar Mercury 50 low-nitrogen oxide gas turbines, digester gas cleaning and compression equipment, heat recovery steam generators, duct burners, a backup boiler, electrical equipment needed to operate in parallel with the utility grid and ancillary systems, including water treatment and process control systems.

Overall, the CHP facility will reduce DC Water’s greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent, as well as reduce the risk of increased disposal costs and provide a hedge against increases in future power costs.

Construction will begin in August and is due to be completed in December 2014.

More than 30 water and wastewater agencies from seven Bay Area counties in California

are saving money on chemical purchases through a bidding consortium spearheaded by Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD). The Bay Area Chemical Consortium (BACC) is an informal cooperative that advertises and opens sealed competitive bids and then prepares bid recommendations. Once bids are opened, participants enter into their own contracts with the lowest responsive bidder.

Savings vary, but consortium members have saved up to 20 percent by participating in BACC bids.

"Our first group bid request in 2010 was for 915,000 gallons of sodium hypochlorite," says DSRSD Operations Manager Dan Gallagher. "That year, DSRSD alone saved 20 percent on sodium hypochlorite over the previous year’s bid, or about $48,000. In 2011, the BACC sodium hypochlorite bid grew to 3 million gallons and resulted in an additional 13 percent savings for DSRSD compared to the 2010 price. DSRSD uses about 240,000 gallons of hypo in the course of a year."

In 2011 BACC solicited bids for sodium hypochlorite, ferric/ferrous chloride, caustic soda, and polymers. In 2012 the consortium will add bidding for alum, anhydrous and aqueous ammonia, citric acid, hydrofluorosilicic acid, powdered activated carbon, and sodium bisulfite.

DSRSD took the lead in forming the consortium and currently handles all of the administrative tasks associated with compiling, soliciting, and opening bids. Bidding is done each spring in order to produce bid recommendations before the start of the next fiscal year.

Current BACC participants include nine members of the Contra Costa Chapter of the California Special Districts Association as well as three cities in Contra Costa County. BACC accepts new members at any time, although bidding for fiscal year 2012-2013 is already underway.

For more information and contacts, visit the BACC page at www.dsrsd.com .

You can track all the water chemical bids in the new database in the report at:

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/TofC.htm

Here are the titles added since the last update.

Huntsville, AL

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=1993

Tuscaloosa, AL

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=1994

Santa Cruz, CA

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=1991

Tallahassee, FL

https://www.mcilvainecompany.com/Universal_Water_Chemical/Subscriber/uwcDB/totentry.asp?ref=1997